Felicity, California
by Jane St. Clair

The other day I was driving in the middle of nowhere. A very desert-y landscape near the border of Arizona, Mexico and California, unlike our beautiful and green Sonora Desert near Tucson. No sir, this was desert-y desert as in Sahara or Lawrence of Arabia.

It’s the kind of spot where you see a “Last Chance Gas Station” with a skeleton sitting outside. The skeleton is wearing a Stetson and a worn-out leather vest.

That day in beautiful downtown Felicity, California, the temperature was 115 degrees. The sun was straight up, producing very bright light and rigid shadows. The long landscape was empty and barren as far as the eye could see.

A sign read “The Center of the World.” It’s a real place, even though in this heat, you wonder if you’re imagining things.

Felicity, California has a real zip code and post office, but not very many people. It has maybe two people. The founder of the town, Andrew Istel, is mayor. In the last election, he got three votes, one from himself, one from his wife, and one from a magical dragon.

The railroad tracks go right nearby, and there’s a strange pyramid. If you stand in the middle of the pyramid, you’re standing in the Center of the World. When attendants are around (who are not around in 115 degree heat), you can get a certificate that says you stood in the Center of the World.

Besides the pyramid, Felicity, California has a church and a museum with a cafeteria. Also a “stairway to nowhere” and a bowling alley. Everything was closed on that summer day.

However, I was able to walk around a very strange exhibit called “The History of the World in Granite.”

At first I thought they meant a history of granite, but no, that’s not it. It is a history of the world in granite panels with history dates and engraved pictures engraved on them. The panels look weird and creepy in the middle of the desert. They reminded me of The Monolith-thing from the movie, “2001, Space Odyssey.

Istel, who made money making parachutes, put the pyramid in his town because he thinks pyramids go along with deserts. The “Stairway to Nowhere” has bits of the Eiffel Tower in it. The “History of the World” is an on-going project.

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I don’t think you need to plan your visit to Felicity, Ca. It’s probably better to just let it pop up on you. However, should you want to plan your visit, they have a website here –at the center of the world, no less.